


Rosings Park

by rowanrenault



Category: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M, Gen, Gothic, Haunted Houses, Romance, Stolen inheritance, governess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2019-09-25
Packaged: 2020-10-27 19:41:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20765888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowanrenault/pseuds/rowanrenault
Summary: When she takes a job as a governess, Elizabeth Bennet does not expect to live in the crumbling manor of Rosings Park. Will she unravel the mystery that has condemned its residents to a reduced situation, or will the house itself overwhelm her?





	Rosings Park

**Author's Note:**

> This is very much a first draft/work in progress. Feedback is very much appreciated, as this is a departure from what I've written in the past. Thanks so much for reading!

Elizabeth Bennet peered out of the window of the stagecoach. She knew she was fortunate to have a seat next to a window, rather than between two other passengers. Indeed, she was fortunate to have a place to go at all. However, it was difficult to be grateful when she was practically overwhelmed with unease. Her life had changed dramatically in a short period of time, and she had barely had a chance to adjust.

Ten hours’ time in a public coach, however, gave her more time to consider than she strictly wanted.

She was headed towards her new life, surrounded by no one she had ever met before. Behind her were her sisters and her beloved aunt and uncle, whom she could no longer burden. Behind her, too, was a marriage proposal that she might soon regret declining.

She chewed her lower lip. She did not think that she had made a mistake in turning down Mr. Lewis, but she knew that her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner were shocked at her decision. He was a reasonable prospect for her--he worked in her uncle’s office, and would have provided her with a comfortable life. Many gentlewomen with insubstantial dowries had made much worse matches, or no match at all. Everyone but Jane had been shocked when she had denied him.

And she knew, perfectly well, what her denial meant. She could no longer trespass on the hospitality of her aunt and uncle. They had been good enough to take in Jane and Elizabeth after the Bennet girls had been suddenly orphaned. It was decided that the eldest two would go to London with the Gardiners, where they would be more likely to make an appropriate match, and the younger girls would stay with the Phillipses in Meryton.

It had been quite a shock to nearly everyone when Elizabeth was the first to receive a proposal. Mr. Lewis was a nice enough sort, if one took no issue with gentle vapidity. He held no strong opinions that Elizabeth could tell, and his countenance was pleasantly inoffensive. The very thought of spending her life with such a man sent shivers down her spine. There was no question that she could never love one such as him; however, the fact that she could neither respect him made the issue of matrimony entirely moot.

So, since she would not marry, that left one path open to her. She would have to find work.

Her aunt and uncle were horrified at the idea; certainly marriage to an acceptable young man had to be preferable to finding work? After all, Elizabeth was a gentleman’s daughter, and the idea of her earning a wage was both scandalous and upsetting. But Elizabeth neither wished to marry without love, nor to impose on her aunt and uncle as she settled into spinsterhood. She meant to make her own way.

And there she was, on the first step of her journey towards her new position as a governess for a young lady named Miss Georgiana Darcy. Elizabeth did not know whether she was appropriately qualified to teach a young woman, especially considering that she had never had a governess of her own. However, the wages had been low enough--scarcely more than room and board--that she had chanced submitting a letter of application. And apparently more qualified governesses were not lining up at Miss Darcy’s door, as Elizabeth had received a prompt response offering her the position.

She was to move to Rosings Park in Kent. She had heard of the great pastoral beauty of Kent, and she could not help but imagine that it might be sunny there frequently, or at the very least more often than in dreary London. However, the countryside she spied out her window looked less cheerful and more thoroughly muddy than she had expected. 

She could not make herself feel anything but trepidation about what lay ahead of her.

Her journey was nearly at an end, which was at least a minor relief. There was no doubt that Rosings Park would at least be larger than the stagecoach.

Elizabeth’s hopes that the landscape would become more inviting as she neared her destination were dashed when they arrived at the coach inn where she was to meet her carriage to Rosings. The inn itself seemed in good order, but there was nothing else in sight but a single run-down cart hitched to a tired-looking, shaggy donkey. A man who looked just as worn-out as the donkey watched her as she stepped out of the carriage. Her trunk was retrieved and, before she knew it, the stagecoach was pulling away and she was left alone with man and beast.

“Are you Miss Bennet, then?” the man said in a reedy voice.

“Yes,” she replied, glad that her voice hadn’t left her. “Are you to take me to Rosings Park?”

“I am.”

She waited for him to put her trunk in the cart. He just stared at her for an exceedingly long time, and then climbed down, grunting and holding his back. 

“Would have been just as easy for them to load the trunk as dump it on the ground,” he grumbled as he struggled to get it onto the cart. It was not a very big trunk, but he was not a very big man, and thus it seemed all he could manage. After his fight with the trunk was won, he climbed back into the cart and gestured for her to get in as well. Elizabeth did her best to maintain her decorum as she climbed up into the cart with nothing but a bored look from the driver to help her. Finally, she was more or less settled, and he commanded the donkey forward.

They rode for what felt like a long time in silence. Finally, the driver spoke. “Hope you won’t be expecting nothing fancy. Rosings Park, it sounds grand enough, but ‘tis not.”

“I am certain that it will suit me,” Elizabeth said, because she could think of no other response. Certainly, she had not been expecting an overly grand country manor. “As long as I have a bed and food, I shall be comfortable.”

He snorted and looked at her sidelong. “We shall see, Miss,” he said.

There were no further attempts at conversation after that. The road was rutted, making the trip a difficult one, and more than once Elizabeth found herself clutching the side of the cart to keep from tumbling out. Rosings was only a few miles from the coach inn, but the ride stretched out for what felt like days.

Finally, they turned a corner in the road and the driver grunted, “There.”

It was dusk, and it was difficult to make out details in the failing light. All Elizabeth could see at first was a hulking mass of stone reaching for the sky. As she looked harder, she saw that the building reached out in either direction with low wings, and a central turreted section thrusting into the sky. It was clear that Rosings was both enormous and in a state of extreme disrepair.

Elizabeth did not realize that she had gasped until the man beside her let out an unkind chuckle. “You were warned,” he said. “Used to be one of the grandest houses there was, before Mr. de Bourgh lost the family fortune. He’d already purchased a wife with a fancy title--daughter of an earl, she is--and they had a little one. But too fond of cards, he was, and next anyone knew, there was no money left.”

Elizabeth wanted to tell him that she was certain their financial state was none of her business, but she could not seem to find her voice. The imposing house in front of her had stolen it away.

For the first time, she found herself wondering if she might have made a terrible mistake in turning down Mr. Lewis. Perhaps she could convince the driver to return her to the coach inn, where she could board the next available coach back to the Gardiners’, and soon this entire interlude would be nothing more than a bad dream.

_ No _ , she told herself sternly.  _ You made your choice, and you will live with the consequences of it. Besides, any old house looks imposing at dusk. You will be brave and do what you came here to do. _

The man next to her laughed once more, as if he could read her thoughts. “Welcome to Rosings Park,” he said.

He jumped off the cart and stared at her expectantly. After a moment, Elizabeth descended the cart with precisely the same amount of help that she received in ascending it. The man heaved her trunk down and deposited it next to the door, then returned to the cart. Elizabeth waited next to her trunk at the door.

“Better see yourself in,” the man called as he remounted the cart. “If you wait for an invitation, you may be there all day.”

Elizabeth was not prepared to walk into the house without an invitation, so she firmly rapped the doorknocker and waited for several uncomfortable minutes. She was considering whether she ought to look for another entrance when the door swung open. A sour looking woman with a pinched, severe face and dark hair drawn tightly in a bun stood there, holding a candle. It cast long shadows on her face, making her look ghostly.

“Are you waiting for a formal invitation? Vickers said you have been here for some time. I do not have time to coddle the new governess, if that is your intention.”

“Not at all!” said Elizabeth, feeling as if she needed to defend herself. “I only thought not to presume.”

The woman looked at her through narrowed eyes. “I am not here to answer to your whims,” she said. “No time for your London ways here.”

Elizabeth fought the urge to laugh at that; she had lived in London a scarce few months, and certainly did not retain any of the “ways” of it. However, the woman standing in front of her would likely never forgive the laughter, and Elizabeth was desperate to make a connection with anyone in the house.

“I would never intend you to submit to my whims,” she said, as earnestly as she could manage. “Might I come in?”

The woman stood back and allowed Elizabeth to enter into the inky blackness of the entry.

“What may I call you?” Elizabeth enquired, once the door was closed behind her.

“Mrs. Wilkins,” the woman replied, “although I do not suspect that we shall have much to say to one another. Follow me.”

Mrs. Wilkins turned and strode ahead, and Elizabeth hurried behind her lest she be left behind. She was not able to make out much of the house around them. Candles were not lit in the entryway, so the only light was coming from Mrs. Wilkins’ candle. They took a left, and a right, and then Elizabeth could see up ahead a gentle glow coming from a single room. She cautiously followed Mrs. Wilkins through the door and saw a collection of people sitting in the room. There were enough candles that she could see much more clearly, and she felt curious eyes on her.

At the pianoforte sat a slight blonde girl who could only be her charge, Miss Darcy. Seated in a high-backed chair was an imperious looking older woman whom Elizabeth guessed to be Lady Catherine. There were two other women in the room, older than Elizabeth but not by much, and a very handsome man. She tried not to stare at any of them, but her natural curiosity got the best of her and she settled for not looking at any of them for too long.

“The governess?” the older woman said to Mrs. Wilkins.

“Yes, madam.”

“You may go, Wilkins,” the woman said, and actually waved a hand in a dismissive motion.

Elizabeth realized that she did not especially want Mrs. Wilkins to go. She might be unpleasant, but she was the only soul that she knew in the room.

The young girl was out of her seat at the pianoforte. “You are Miss Bennet?” she asked in a high, lyrical voice.

“I am,” Elizabeth answered.

The girl drew closer. Elizabeth could see that she wore a frock of good quality that was several seasons old. However, the smile on the girl’s face could overcome whatever she might be wearing.

“I am Georgiana Darcy, and I am certain that we are to be the dearest of friends!” the girl said, taking both of Elizabeth’s hands in hers. “Oh, you are just perfect! Exactly like I expected you to be.”

“Georgiana, I am so pleased to meet you,” Elizabeth said, and thoroughly meant each syllable. Her charge was the first person who had smiled at her since Elizabeth bade farewell to Jane and her aunt and uncle.

“Come, do let me introduce you,” Georgiana said. She took Elizabeth by the hand and pulled her to the high-backed chair. “Lady Catherine, may I present Miss Elizabeth Bennet?--I did get that right, did I not?” she asked as an aside to Elizabeth, who nodded briefly.

“It is an honor to meet you, your ladyship,” Elizabeth said. She considered whether she ought to curtsy, saw the sour look on Lady Catherine’s face, and quickly decided that she should err on the side of being too formal. She dropped a somewhat-unpracticed curtsy. 

“Is this your first job as a governess, Miss Bennet?” Lady Catherine asked.

Elizabeth was startled; she assumed that Lady Catherine had been the one to hire her, but she did not seem to know the qualifications that Elizabeth wrote of in her letter.

“Yes ma’am,” she said. “But I do have three younger sisters.”

“I do not see how that qualifies you,” Lady Catherine sniffed. “Really, Darcy, was this the best you could find?” She turned and looked expectantly at the handsome man.

“Oh, but let us continue the introductions!” Georgiana said in a bright voice. It was clear that she was a very socially adept young lady. Elizabeth was glad that her charge was so pleasant.

Georgiana directed Elizabeth towards the other women. “Miss Anne de Bourgh, allow me to present Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

The woman was gaunt, with sunken cheeks and haunted-looking eyes. Her hair was pulled back neatly, but managed to look wild at the same time. She was dressed all in severe black, and she trembled a bit as she sat there.

“Miss Bennet,” Miss de Bourgh said. “I have heard so much of you.”

“Really, Miss de Bourgh?” Elizabeth said. Perhaps she was the one who did the hiring. “Was it you who read my letter?”

Anne laughed, a thin, reedy, humorless sound. “Me? No. But they told me.”

“They?”

Anne gestured vaguely all around. “Everywhere. Nowhere.”

“Now Miss de Bourgh,” said the woman sitting next to her, soothingly. “You know there is no one here except your family and Miss Bennet.”

“So say you,” Anne said, refusing to look at the woman. “I know. I know.”

“That is Mrs. Foster, Anne’s nurse,” Georgiana said, and Mrs. Foster and Elizabeth nodded at one another, Elizabeth glad for the diversion from Miss de Bourgh’s mutterings. “And this,” Georgiana said, leading Elizabeth over to the handsome man, “is my darling brother, Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy gave her a slight bow and she stumbled her way through another curtsy because she felt so disconcerted. 

“Welcome to Rosings Park, Miss Bennet,” he said in a deep, quiet voice. “I hope that you will be happy here. I assure you that you will have a most agreeable charge.” He looked at Georgiana and his eyes softened. “She deserves nothing less than the best, but…” He trailed off.

_ But you could not afford any but me _ , Elizabeth thought, but she kept her mouth shut.

“Call Wilkins,” Lady Catherine demanded. “She will want to go to her room.”

Elizabeth wondered if she would always be talked about as if she was not there. Perhaps she was just one of Anne’s everywhere and nowhere voices. The thought struck her as particularly maudlin, and she suppressed a shiver.

“Oh, I shall take her!” Georgiana said.

“You should not be out there alone at night,” Mr. Darcy said, as if Georgiana had proposed traipsing through the woods rather than a manor house.

“Then you must accompany me, brother, and keep me safe,” she said, taking his arm. It was clear that he did not want to deny her anything, as he retrieved a candle and walked towards the door, secure in the knowledge that Elizabeth would either follow or get left behind.

As she followed the second ghostly candle in less than an hour, Elizabeth could not help but wonder just how bad marriage could possibly be.


End file.
